Eramet launches €500 million capital increase to cut group debt
Key Facts
Eramet announced on November 13 that it was launching a rights issue with preferential subscription rights worth about €500 million in total, saying net proceeds would be used to reduce group debt. France’s State Shareholding Agency has pledged to subscribe to about 64% of the offering, according to the company statement published on Yahoo Finance. The announcement delivers on a financing plan Eramet said in October it intended to launch during the fourth quarter of 2026. The company had tied the move to restoring its financial position, strengthening its equity base and complying with its bank covenants. The French agency’s participation puts a large share of the subscription in state hands, while the statement available here gave no details on the offering’s effect on ownership stakes or voting rights.
Eramet confirmed on October 12 that it intended to raise €500 million through preferential subscription rights, after announcing the plan in February 2026 and setting the fourth quarter as its target launch period. The company said the offering was part of its efforts to restore its financial position, strengthen its equity base and meet its bank covenants. On October 29, it said completion of the planned capital increase remained necessary, noting that subscription agreements had been signed with its reference shareholders. It also said it had obtained the necessary waiver from France’s financial markets regulator. The proposed financing therefore remained central to the company’s plan before it announced the launch on November 13, with completion dependent on shareholder participation and the regulatory timetable.
The company tied the strengthening of its balance sheet to completing the capital increase before year-end, and in its October 29 update maintained its 2026 adjusted EBITDA forecast of between €540 million and €610 million. The range represents an annual estimate of operating performance, while Eramet made strengthening its financial position contingent on the success of the financing. On November 9, the company said estimated year-end liquidity was above €1.6 billion and that its forecasts for adjusted leverage below 3 times and a gearing ratio below 100% also depended on completion of the capital increase. It presented these figures as conditional forecasts, not achieved results. The plan thus links the capital raise with the financial targets Eramet announced for the end of 2026.
The capital increase is part of a broader financing plan Eramet said it was working to implement, alongside a performance improvement program and efforts to sell minority stakes. On November 9, the company said two transactions were under way: one involving a minority stake in the Centenario project, and the other the sale of a significant portion of its minority interest in PT Weda Bay Nickel. The information provided in these updates did not specify expected proceeds or a completion date for either transaction. On the same day, Chief Executive Christel Bories said capturing growth opportunities first required restoring the balance sheet, adding that this was the goal of the measures the company had begun implementing, particularly the financing plan and performance improvement program. Her remarks put debt reduction and restoring balance-sheet strength at the forefront of the conditions management considers necessary to return to growth opportunities.
Eramet’s third-quarter figures published on October 29 provide the operating backdrop to the plan: adjusted revenue was €746 million, up 4% for the period, with a positive price effect of 15% offset by a negative volume effect of 12%. The company said improved prices supported revenue despite the drag from lower volumes, while the capital increase was still an uncompleted proposal. According to the October update, completing it was a condition for strengthening the balance sheet by year-end. The available information does not report a share-price or market reaction to the November 13 announcement, so it provides no details on trading. The next steps center on carrying out the subscription according to the timetable announced by the company.
According to the capital increase website, subscription rights will trade from November 16 to November 25, 2026, while the subscription period will run from November 18 to November 27. Results of the subscription are due to be announced on December 2, followed by settlement of the new shares and their listing on Euronext Paris on December 4. These dates mark the announced milestones for completing the offering after its launch. The success of the subscription will determine how much funding is added to the group’s equity, while Eramet said net proceeds would go toward reducing debt. The company also tied its year-end financial forecasts to completion of the capital increase, making the subscription results and listing the next implementation milestones in its financing plan.